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Pan Fried Morels

This Saturday marked the first outdoor Dane County Farmer’s Market of the year. AB and I excitedly ventured to the capitol square, and joined the throngs of people jostling from stall to stall.

The highlight of this trip (as we missed out on the spicy cheese bread we consumed religiously last summer) was definitely the Morels. I don’t think we’ve had morels since we paid a ridiculously high price for them right after we moved to Maryland 6 years ago! The morels at the market weren’t cheap, but definitely worth the rare treat.

We bought a half pound, took them home, and soaked them in salt water for a few hours. Morels are mushrooms, yes, but they don’t soak up water like a button or portabella might, so soaking them is a good way to encourage any earthen or insect hangers-on to relax their grips.

After soaking, AB dredged the mushrooms in egg and then flour with a bit of Lawry’s. I had a ridiculous amount of butter ready in the pan, and dropped the morels in. I turned them each a few times, to ensure full browning. I drained the butter after the second batch in the pan, as I have a tendency to increase the heat- you don’t want the butter to burn, or the taste will be off.

The result is deliciously rich nutty mushroomy morsels. We don’t expect to see morels again this season, but part of the fun in eating them is the rarity, and it allows us to enjoy the decadence of butter frying- NOT something we usually do!

As a footnote, we went to the old fashioned for brunch on Saturday after the farmer’s market. AB ordered a morel scramble, but we’re pretty sure they hadn’t soaked the mushrooms long enough– there was definitely some grit in there. Soaking is key!